A number of drugs are on the market or in development for treating asthma and other respiratory disorders. One of the targets for asthma therapy is IL-13. IL-13 is a pleiotropic TH2 cytokine produced by activated T cells, NKT cells, basophils, eosinophils, and mast cells, and it has been strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma in preclinical models. IL-13 antagonists, including anti-IL-13 antibodies, have previously been described. Certain such antibodies have also been developed as human therapeutics. Recently, several studies have shown clinical activity of monoclonal antibodies against IL-13 in the treatment of asthma (See, e.g., Corren et al., 2011, N. Engl. J. Med. 365, 1088-1098; Gauvreau et al., 2011, Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 183, 1007-1014; Ingram and Kraft, 2012, J Allergy Clin. Immunol. 130, 829-42; Webb, 2011, Nat Biotechnol 29, 860-863). Of these, lebrikizumab, a humanized IgG4 antibody that neutralizes IL-13 activity, improved lung function in asthmatics who were symptomatic despite treatment with, for the majority, inhaled corticosteroids and a long-acting beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist (Corren et al., 2011, N Engl. J Med. 365, 1088-1098).
In addition, IL-13 has been implicated in numerous other allergic and fibrotic disorders. For example, such diseases and/or conditions mediated by IL13 include, but are not limited to, allergic asthma, non-allergic (intrinsic) asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, allergic conjunctivitis, eczema, urticaria, food allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ulcerative colitis, RSV infection, uveitis, scleroderma, and osteoporosis.
For recombinant biopharmaceutical proteins to be acceptable for administration to human patients, it is important that residual impurities resulting from the manufacture and purification process are removed from the final biological product. These process components include culture medium proteins, immunoglobulin affinity ligands, viruses, endotoxin, DNA, and host cell proteins. These host cell impurities include process-specific host cell proteins (HCPs), which are process-related impurities/contaminants in the biologics derived from recombinant DNA technology. While HCPs are typically present in the final drug substance in small quantities (in parts-per-million or nanograms per milligram of the intended recombinant protein), it is recognized that HCPs are undesirable and their quantities should be minimized. For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that biopharmaceuticals intended for in vivo human use should be as free as possible of extraneous impurities, and requires tests for detection and quantitation of potential contaminants/impurities, such as HCPs.
Procedures for purification of proteins from cell debris initially depend on the site of expression of the protein. Some proteins are secreted directly from the cell into the surrounding growth media; others are made intracellularly. For the latter proteins, the first step of a purification process involves lysis of the cell, which can be done by a variety of methods, including mechanical shear, osmotic shock, or enzymatic treatments. Such disruption releases the entire contents of the cell into the homogenate, and in addition produces subcellular fragments that are difficult to remove due to their small size. These are generally removed by centrifugation or by filtration. The same problem arises with directly secreted proteins due to the natural death of cells and release of intracellular host cell proteins in the course of the protein production run.
Once a solution containing the protein of interest is obtained, its separation from the other proteins produced by the cell is usually attempted using a combination of different chromatography techniques. Typically, these techniques separate mixtures of proteins on the basis of their charge, degree of hydrophobicity, or size. Several different chromatography resins are available for each of these techniques, allowing accurate tailoring of the purification scheme to the particular protein involved. The essence of each of these separation methods is that proteins can be caused either to move at different rates down a long column, achieving a physical separation that increases as they pass further down the column, or to adhere selectively to the separation medium, being then differentially eluted by different solvents. In some cases, the desired protein is separated from impurities when the impurities specifically adhere to the column, and the protein of interest does not, that is, the protein of interest is present in the “flow-through.”
Ion-exchange chromatography, named for the exchangeable counterion, is a procedure applicable to purification of ionizable molecules. Ionized molecules are separated on the basis of the non-specific electrostatic interaction of their charged groups with oppositely charged molecules attached to the solid phase support matrix, thereby retarding those ionized molecules that interact more strongly with solid phase. The net charge of each type of ionized molecule, and its affinity for the matrix, varies according to the number of charged groups, the charge of each group, and the nature of the molecules competing for interaction with the charged solid phase matrix. These differences result in resolution of various molecule types by ion-exchange chromatography. In typical protein purification using ion exchange chromatography, a mixture of many proteins derived from a host cell, such as in mammalian cell culture, is applied to an ion-exchange column. After non-binding molecules are washed away, conditions are adjusted, such as by changing pH, counter ion concentration and the like in step- or gradient-mode, to release from the solid phase a non-specifically retained or retarded ionized protein of interest and separating it from proteins having different charge characteristics. Anion exchange chromatography involves competition of an anionic molecule of interest with the negative counter ion for interaction with a positively charged molecule attached to the solid phase matrix at the pH and under the conditions of a particular separation process. By contrast, cation exchange chromatography involves competition of a cationic molecule of interest with the positive counter ion for a negatively charged molecule attached to the solid phase matrix at the pH and under the conditions of a particular separation process. Mixed mode ion exchange chromatography (also referred to as multimodal ion exchange chromatography) involves the use of a combination of cation and anion exchange chromatographic media in the same step. In particular, “mixed mode” refers to a solid phase support matrix to which is covalently attached a mixture of cation exchange, anion exchange, and hydrophobic interaction moieties.
Hydroxyapatite chromatography of proteins involves the non-specific interaction of the charged amino or carboxylate groups of a protein with oppositely charged groups on the hydroxyapatite, where the net charge of the hydroxyapatite and protein are controlled by the pH of the buffer. Elution is accomplished by displacing the non-specific protein-hydroxyapatite pairing with ions such as Ca2+ or Mg2+. Negatively charged protein groups are displaced by negatively charged compounds, such as phosphates, thereby eluting a net-negatively charged protein.
Hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) is typically used for the purification and separation of molecules, such as proteins, based on differences in their surface hydrophobicity. Hydrophobic groups of a protein interact non-specifically with hydrophobic groups coupled to the chromatography matrix. Differences in the number and nature of protein surface hydrophobic groups results in differential retardation of proteins on a HIC column and, as a result, separation of proteins in a mixture of proteins.
Affinity chromatography, which exploits a specific structurally dependent (i.e., spatially complementary) interaction between the protein to be purified and an immobilized capture agent, is a standard purification option for some proteins, such as antibodies. Protein A, for example, is a useful adsorbent for affinity chromatography of proteins, such as antibodies, which contain an Fc region. Protein A is a 41 kD cell wall protein from Staphylococcus aureas which binds with a high affinity (about 10−8M to human IgG) to the Fc region of antibodies.
Purification of recombinant polypeptides is typically performed using bind and elute chromatography (B/E) or flow-through (F/T) chromatography. These are briefly described below.
Bind and Elute Chromatography (B/E): Under B/E chromatography the product is usually loaded to maximize dynamic binding capacity (DBC) to the chromatography material and then wash and elution conditions are identified such that maximum product purity is attained in the eluate.
Various B/E methods for use with protein A affinity chromatography, including various intermediate wash buffers, have been described. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,127,526 and 6,333,398 describe an intermediate wash step during Protein A chromatography using hydrophobic electrolytes, e.g., tetramethylammonium chloride (TMAC) and tetraethylammonium chloride (TEAC), to remove the contaminants, but not the immobilized Protein A or the protein of interest, bound to the Protein A column. U.S. Pat. No. 6,870,034 describes additional methods and wash buffers for use with protein A affinity chromatography.
Flow Through Chromatography (F/T): Using F/T chromatography, load conditions are identified where impurities strongly bind to the chromatography material while the product flows through. F/T chromatography allows high load density for standard monoclonal antibody preparations (MAbs).
In recombinant anti-IL13 MAb preparations and certain other recombinant polypeptides produced in CHO cells, we identified an enzyme, phospholipase B-like 2, as a single CHOP species present in excess of available antibodies in a total CHOP ELISA assay. As used herein, “PLB2” and “PLBL2” and “PLBD2” are used interchangeably and refer to the enzyme “phospholipase B-like 2” or its synonym, “phospholipase B-domain-like 2”. Certain scientific publications on PLBL2 include Lakomek, K. et al., BMC Structural Biology 9:56 (2009); Deuschi, et al., FEBS Lett 580:5747-5752 (2006). PLBL2 is synthesized as a pre-pro-enzyme with parent MW of about 66,000. There is an initial leader sequence which is removed and potential 6 mannose-6-phosphate (M-6-P) groups are added during post-translational modification. M-6-P is a targeting modification that directs this enzyme to the lysosome via the M-6-P receptor. PLBL2 contains 6 cysteines, two of which have free sulfhydrals, and four form disulfide bonds. In acidic environments, PLBL2 is further clipped into the N- and C-terminal fragments having 32,000 and 45,000 MW, respectively. By analogy with other lysosomal enzymes, this cleavage is an activating step, allowing and access of the substrate to the active site.
There is about 80% PLBL2 amino acid sequence homology between hamster and human forms of the enzyme. The enzyme activity is thought to be to cleave either fatty acid chain from the phospholipids that make up cell membranes. There are other phospholipases with different substrate cleavage specificities. Similar enzymatic activities exist in microorganisms, where they are often a virulence factor. Although microorganisms have a similar enzymatic activity, the protein generating this activity is different, and there is low sequence homology between microbial and mammalian PLBL2 enzymes. Phospholipases produce free fatty acids (FFA) as one product of the substrate hydrolysis. Free fatty acids are themselves a potential immune-signaling factor. Dehydrogenation converts FFA to arachadonic acid which potentially participates in inflammation cascades involving eicosanoids.
Having identified PLBL2 as a single HCP (CHOP) in recombinant anti-IL13 MAb preparations and certain other recombinant polypeptides produced in CHO cells, we developed reagents, methods, and kits for the specific, sensitive, and quantitative determination of PLBL2 levels in anti-IL-13 Mab preparations (and other recombinant polypeptide products) and at various stages of purification. These are briefly described in the Examples below and also in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/877,503 and 61/991,228. In addition, there was the formidable challenge of developing a large-scale, robust, and efficient process for the purification of anti-IL13 MAb (and other recombinant polypeptide products) resulting in MAb of sufficient purity (including removal of PLBL2) for human therapeutic use including late-stage clinical and commercial use. The invention described herein meets certain of the above-described needs and provides other benefits.
All references cited herein, including patent applications and publications, are incorporated by reference in their entirety.